Upgrade help for BF3

[JuanRodriguez]

I am planning to spend some money upgrading my PC, I hate that there are so many options around and I've been out of the customizing game for too long to catch up.​

Here's the dilemma. About 3 years I got a PC, which used to be great but now I can't play decently BF3. I currently own an ASUS ESSENTIO CG5290. It comes with an i7 920(2.66GHz) and a decent ASUS RAMPAGE GENE II MICRO. Also it comes with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260, of course, not recommended for BF3. I upgraded the memory from 9GB DDR3 to Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB DDR3 SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit, the bad is that the mobo is Triple Channel, still works but I guess is not being that optimized. Anyway, I just need something good, not super awesome but something much better. I want to upgrade the Video Card and the Motherboard if I need to. I have a good PSU (upgraded to OCZ) so no worries there... Are those two ok? With what I have (i7 920 and the memory) what else you guys should recommend to play BF3 and to use photoshop CS5?​

Thanks for helping the newly n00b !​

 

[Ken g6]

I have a good PSU (upgraded to OCZ) so no worries there...

Meh. OCZ isn't one of the best brands, though they're not as bad as a generic PSU. What wattage? How many rails, and what amperages on them? I'll hold off on GPU recommendations until you answer this.

Resolution you'll be playing at is also important. 1080P, higher, or lower?

Sounds like you should put 3 of the RAM DIMMs in one set of slots, and store the fourth away someplace. You really don't need more than 8GB for BF3 anyway. Edit: Dual-channel! Just two DIMMs? That must have been expensive! Oh, well, it will work. Can't be just two DIMMs - mobo doesn't support 8GB DIMMs.

The only other thing I'd recommend is to see if your mobo lets you overclock your CPU. If so, you might want a better CPU cooler, like this.

 

[fastamdman]

Your best bet of getting a big fps gain is to simply buy a new video card. You can get USED gtx 580s for 350-400 dollars generally. If buying new I would still go with a gtx 580 because they are on top of the food chain currently and will be for awhile to come. They can play ANYTHING you toss at them.

As far as your motherboard, im sure it's fine, no sense in changing something for no reason. As far as your PSU, without a model number I can't tell you if it's good or not.

 

[JuanRodriguez]

My PSU is the OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V.
Here are some specs I found on the web:
Type ATX12V
Maximum Power 700W
Fans 120mm
fan PFC Active
Main Connector 20+4Pin
+12V Rails 4
PCI-Express Connector 1 x 6-Pin, 1 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Power Connector 6
SLI Certified
CrossFire Ready
Modular No
Over Voltage Protection Yes
Input Voltage 100 - 240 V
Input Frequency Range 50/60 Hz
Input Current10A @ 115V, 5A @ 230V
Output+3.3@36A,+5V@30A,+12V1@18A,+12V2@18A,+12V3@18A,+12V4@18A,-12V@0.8A,+5VSB@3.0A
Features
Connectors 1 x 20+4-pin ATX
1 x 4-pin/8-pin CPU
2 x PCI-Express
6 x 4-pin peripheral
2 x 4-pin floppy
6 x SATA

 

[fastamdman]

Your psu is fine for the most part. Nothing amazing but nothing low low end either. I don't know what your budget is but I would grab a gtx 580, toss it in and be happy with your system.

Edit: Later on down the line if you feel as if you need to upgrade go ahead and grab Ivy Bridge. Otherwise, grab a gtx 580 and blow away any game you want

 

[JuanRodriguez]

Will it work with my mobo (Ivy Bridge)? or should I upgrade that too? Of course, later on... what's y'all take on ATI? I'm just saying about the whole multi-monitor deal (more than 2)

 

[lehtv]

Yes the PSU will work with a video card upgrade, no need to change it. Your CPU is still good.

ken g6 asked about your monitor resolution. It'd be also good to know your budget.

 

[JuanRodriguez]

1600x1050 right now with 1 monitor

 

[lehtv]

OK. I'd recommend an AMD 6870 then.

If you're planning to upgrade the monitor to 1080p and have more cash to spend, then AMD 6950 2GB. Or just stick with 6870 until 7000-series or NVIDIA kepler, and then sell and upgrade.

 

[JuanRodriguez]

Is the 6950 2Gb comparable to the GTX 580? I know price-wise the 580 is more but I am wondering if there is significant performance? I couldn't find the 2Gb version of the 6950 to benchmark it. I do like the fact that that I can accomodate several monitors (+2), but I am open to either or... more in terms of future-proof stuff?

 

[lehtv]

6950 2gb vs gtx 580
6950 2gb unlocked vs gtx 580

All of the games that show a huge gap - dirt3, hawx, battleforge, CIV5 - are really NVIDIA biased, or at least were when they were benchmarked. I don't know if this has changed with driver updates.

 

[mfenn]

Basically all you need is a GPU upgrade. The 6950 2GB is a good choice that will be more than enough performance at your resolution without breaking the bank.

You also have a pretty decent overclocking mobo and CPU, so I would get a cheap yet decent cooler like the Mugen 3 and take your 920 to 3.5Ghz or so.

 

[JuanRodriguez]

So I will settle for the 6950 2GB, seems pretty solid for the price... which one of the 6950 flavors is the best (in terms of unlockability/price/features/# of Monitors supported)?

 

[mfenn]

So I will settle for the 6950 2GB, seems pretty solid for the price... which one of the 6950 flavors is the best (in terms of unlockability/price/features/# of Monitors supported)?

IMHO, the Sapphire 6950 2GB at $245 AR is the best deal right now. It is unlockable, has a decent cooling solution (basically a copy of the MSI Lightning cooler), and has the standard 2x DVI, HDMI, and DP output cluster.

 

[JuanRodriguez]

Crap monkeys... lol, I just bought 2 Powercolor Radeon HD 6850 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI DisplayPort HDMI PCI-E Video Card for $100 a piece after MIR but I'm not sure if will it work with my current setup... Do you guys know? Is it faster than the Sapphire 6950 2GB overclocked? Is that a good deal?

 

[mfenn]

Yes, they will technically work in your setup. Your mobo has the two x16 slots with only 1 slot of spacing though, so the top card will be suffocating.

Best case performance will be slightly better than a 6950 2GB, but worst case performance will be significantly worse. Not to mention the added heat and noise.

 

[JuanRodriguez]

Thanks mfenn... Those guys were running a promo on the MSI Big Bang Xpower X58 ATX LGA1366 for $149 with a $30 MIR so I couldn't pass for the small upgrade... at least I will get to keep my i7 920 and have USB 3 and SATA III. I hope is an upgrade, worse case I will sell it. Will this be any different? I heard that those 2 in CF will behave similar or a little better than a single GTX580 but who knows...

 

[mfenn]

Spending $120 on a new X58 motherboard is an incredibly bad value, especially since you already had a decent one. $120 is what you could have spent on a Z68 mobo that gets you 1/3rd way to the an i5 2500K, which is a far more significant upgrade. I hope that you can sell it off.